Wednesday, October 27, 2010

There is an ambitious app for the iPhone and iPad called Real Weather Girls[iTunes link]. And since I work at KITV4, I was able to meet Colleen who is the Real Weather Girl in Honolulu. She came on our morning show to promote the app.

Today, the video for her trip to KITV4 is now live in the Real Weather Girls app and I make a couple of appearances.

I think some may have had this "pie in the sky" notion that the Tab would seriously undercut the Apple iPad. The Verizon Tab is $30 cheaper than the comparable 3G iPad, though. I think the jury is still out on the upcoming Wi-Fi only Tab. We'll see how competitive it will be priced compared with the $499 Wi-Fi iPad.

With the two-year contract on Sprint, the required data plan will cost $719.76 over the two-year span. That's not including the initial $399.99 for the device. This is one reason why some people believe unsubsidized is the way to go.

The Tab will also be available on AT&T and T-Mobile. No official word on the pricing and if there will be required commitments. But, TmoNews has released what it believes to be a leaked Tab ad that shows a subsidized $399 tablet with a two-year commitment and a $50 mail-in rebate.

For the record, with the across-the-board rollout of Froyo on Android devices, I feel like I can fully support the platform. If this version of Android with the current hardware specs had come out in 2008, I might have gone the way of the Android. Since I already have an iPhone, an iPad and an Apple TV, the only Android device that might interest me is Android's version of the iPod Touch which won't see the light of day in the U.S. until at least 2011. I'm not sure how I'm going to get internet connectivity though since my iSpot won't work with it and Wi-Fi is not always available in Honolulu.

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Before the American League Championship Series between the Texas Rangers and the New York Yankees, I wanted to make sure I knew the story of Josh Hamilton - the Major League Baseball player who had it all, almost lost it all through drugs and alcohol and then was miraculously redeemed.

I did not know the Rangers were going to beat the Yankees in six games. I did not know Hamilton would be named the ALCS MVP. I did not know Hamilton would be playing in the World Series.

All I knew was that I had to understand why Hamilton's story is such an inspiration to others and I was also looking for a reason to cheer for him.

I'm not an avid book reader but I blazed through this book before the ALCS. Once the book got going, it was hard to put down. It is an amazing story and Hamilton is just as amazed as anyone that he is playing at the Major League Baseball level.

Hamilton makes no apologies for his Christian faith which he credits to his comeback. At the same time, there is no proselytizing in the book (at least that I noticed). There is one swear word used but I did not find it offensive at all.

To not know Hamilton's story is to miss a major storyline of this year's World Series between the Rangers and the San Francisco Giants. I highly recommend reading this book, if you can, before the World Series starts this Wednesday. If the Rangers win the World Series and Hamilton is again named the series MVP, then I'd say another book is warranted.

This is a curious development indeed. Since I maxed out at level 50 months ago I haven't really played much lately. Perhaps the way the old game was made it didn't allow for much growth. The "We" series of games kept getting quick updates while the Godfinger game grew stagnant. Perhaps this will bring back some fun into the game.

Ngmoco says existing Godfinger players should be able to sign in with the new app and have everything automatically transferred. But, in iTunes some people have already said they lost stuff. That might be a good thing for me since I was maxed out and I'm not sure if the level cap was raised.

This morning, the Ngmoco servers are down for maintenance so I can't really try the game. But, once it is up, leave me a comment about how you like the new game.

UPDATE: It appears the level cap was raised. Can't wait to play on the iPad!

In the meantime, here's a trailer for Godfinger All-Stars to whet your appetite for the new content:

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

My favorite golf game right now is Real Golf 2011 HD[iTunes link] for the iPad . Tiger Woods PGA Tour for the iPhone is good, but putting is much harder and I could never really get a hang of the game. Real Golf is easier to play and it has great-looking graphics.

I found a really cool function in Real Golf. You can save your best shots and then upload them to YouTube. Here's a couple of great shots I made today:

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

I don't like getting knockoffs when it comes to iPhone accessories. There's usually a reason why something is made cheap. I'll spend a little more to get something that's high-quality from an established company. But in recent years, there have been great iPhone or iPad accessories that's made by much smaller companies. Element Case is a great example. I hope my videos and postings have helped to make that company what it is today. Another more recent example is the Quirky Cloak iPad case. I pre-ordered it last November to help get the product into production and I received it back in August. Although it was a long wait, the Cloak is now my favorite iPad case. I'll blog about that sometime.

And now I'm helping another company get its product into production. It's called The Glif. It's an iPhone 4 tripod and stand. It's an ingeniously designed piece of plastic that seems to have several useful functions. It's something that I could definitely use for my videos.

For $20, I donated to the cause of getting The Glif into production and when it comes out it will be mailed to me. Most iPhone cases are more than $20 with shipping included. I'll let you know when I get it. I also posted a widget in the right-hand column that will update how much money has been pledged and how many days are left until it is funded. In the meantime, here's a video (with no sound) that shows how The Glif can be used:

Monday, October 4, 2010

I know it's taken me a long time to do a review of the iSpot, but I really wanted to put it through its paces. Also, work has been bogging me down. But that's another story.

Here's a quick rundown of what the iSpot is: it's a mobile hotspot for iOS devices only that will provide 4G speeds through Clear (basically the same WiMax network as Sprint). The iSpot has only 4 hours of battery life, so it won't turn your iPod Touch into a 24-hour a day phone, but it can be handy for iPhone/iPad users that use a lot of data and could use second faster network. Right now, the only network that the iPhone and iPad uses for cellular data is the AT&T 3G network.

I got the iSpot for ($29.99 versus the normal $99.99) for a limited time deal back in August. I pay $25 a month for unlimited 4G data with no contract, meaning that I can stop and start my service just about any time I want.